“What was the alcohol like?”
“It was delicious. It was my first time trying an expensive drink, and I had high expectations, but it was even better than I thought.”
They were chatting in the hotel room where the boss was staying.
Honestly, it didn’t seem necessary, but the boss wanted it that way.
It was probably better to just vaguely understand and let it slide.
I preferred this kind of quiet place over a noisy one.
“Of course it was good. At thirty years old, how expensive could it be?”
“I don’t know the exact price, but I figured it would be pricey. It must have been a gift for you, so they wouldn’t have given you something like soju.”
“That’s true. The price was roughly…”
The boss guessed the price I mentioned.
It wasn’t in the billions, but it was enough to make one think twice.
Somewhere over a hundred…
“It was pricier than I thought. It tasted that way too, but it was a bit surprising.”
“Well, I’m relieved if you enjoyed it.”
We were discussing over tea.
The atmosphere between a boss and an employee definitely wasn’t there; it felt like a conversation between old acquaintances.
Honestly, I felt more comfortable talking like this than discussing work, but it was also a bit challenging.
After all, it was someone close to Lindera.
It felt almost like a parental figure, so I needed to show my respect.
At the same time, I had to be friendly.
“By the way, did you take a taxi here?”
“I asked the Commander to give me a ride. I haven’t even gotten my license yet, and it wouldn’t be right for me to just spend money, right?”
“Wow…”
It took a bit of time to get to the hotel, but since the Commander drove me, it didn’t take too long.
If I had walked or taken a taxi, it would have definitely taken longer.
Well, luckily the Commander didn’t have anything to do, so it was no trouble at all for him to give me a ride.
I was able to get to the hotel so comfortably.
“If I had known the Commander would come, I would have asked him to come up.”
“No way. He hates being a bother. He’d probably find some excuse not to come.”
Under normal circumstances, the Commander wouldn’t want to come.
In fact, I figured him dropping me off at the hotel was an exception, and usually, he would be comfortably asleep in his private room, playing games.
Of course, if I insisted he come, he probably would have in the end.
“You know him well, huh?”
“Well, I’m his vice commander. I can’t help but know.”
“Hmm… well, if you say so.”
He was probably lounging back in the seat of the car right now, casually using his phone.
Despite his appearance, he had his lazy sides in many ways.
“Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed it. You’ll probably get additional missions now.”
“Thank you.”
“Thanking me? It’s because your ship was well-prepared. That’s why it’s possible.”
“Still…”
“Once I get back to headquarters, I’ll assign you a decent mission. Your squad isn’t that large, right? So let’s keep it manageable.”
“Yes, understood.”
It was clear we had fewer agents.
It was better to receive a manageable number than to overload everyone.
In truth, we were already feeling overwhelmed just talking to the Commander.
Well, still, if we received more missions than usual, it would naturally be tougher than before.
“Lindera, but really, that Commander…”
“No way.”
I meant it.
*
“Did you finish your conversation well?”
“Yes, it went well.”
After wrapping up a decent chat with the boss, I returned to the car where the Commander was waiting.
As expected, he was lounging back comfortably in his seat.
“Should we be heading back now?”
“That seems to be the case, doesn’t it?”
“Out of the blue, you come to my room and ask for a ride… that was quite sudden.”
“Well, it happens.”
It wasn’t strange for a subordinate to ask for a ride.
I heard other female staff asking for rides before.
Honestly, I thought asking for a ride was perfectly normal.
I’ve asked the Commander for a ride a few times in the past.
“By the way, how about grabbing lunch before heading back? It feels a bit dull to just leave after coming out.”
Thinking it over, going home right away felt a bit disappointing.
After coming out after a long time, it wouldn’t be fun to chat for just ten minutes with the boss and then head back.
“There are plenty of restaurants nearby; let’s eat something.”
“…Alright.”
“Today, it might not be a bad idea to have what the Commander likes.”
Last time, I picked what I wanted, so this time I decided to go with his choice.
Honestly, I couldn’t think of any specific menu items, but truly, saying I wanted to go back to the ship right away seemed a bit boring.
“But what were you talking about today?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, if you came to talk to the boss, why the sudden trip here?”
“Oh, I just mentioned the drinks from the day before. I talked about other things too, but nothing special.”
We chatted while moving in the car.
Since it was an autonomous vehicle, the Commander didn’t really have to drive, so having a conversation was no issue.
“By the way, Commander, do you have anything planned for today once we get back?”
“Not really.”
“…..”
“Oh. I heard there’s a fun new game out, so playing that would be good.”
Well, at least he was consistent.
That was definitely better than wandering around clubs.
Hmm.
“Anyway… let’s grab lunch first, and then we can think about it.”
“Sure, today’s lunch is hamburgers.”
“…Understood.”
I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but it was acceptable for now.
It could be bothersome, but he had given me a ride, after all.
Besides, I never really thought the Commander had good taste in picking menus anyway.
Hmm.
“Oh, thinking about it, Dolores mentioned wanting to have dinner together tonight.”
“…Huh?”
“I guess I’ll need to come back after dropping you off at the ship.”
“…Did Dolores suggest that first?”
“Yeah.”
Honestly, I wasn’t shocked or surprised.
After all, I was pretty much used to Dolores’s antics by now.
She was a girl who was always getting strange with the Commander in the office, trying to snuggle up to him.
She didn’t come off as someone you could feel comfortable around just like that.
“Where do you plan to eat?”
“I guess somewhere decent, a restaurant.”
“……”
A restaurant, huh.
Well, that was pretty ordinary.
It was suitable, simple, and quite neutral.
“I see…”
“Dolores probably likes such food, doesn’t she? Being a maid and all, it suits her.”
“Hah.”
He really was quite deep in thought.
It made sense she wouldn’t eat things like pork belly, ramen, hamburgers, and chicken.
He wasn’t wrong there.
It was a perfectly legitimate statement.
“Sounds like it could be fun?”
“Why would eating out be fun?”
“Haha…”
I felt a bit annoyed, but I wasn’t sure why.
Truly.
*
“Ugh… it’s Monday…”
“…..”
“Lindera, good morning!”
“Ah, good morning.”
It was a Monday morning.
As always, I woke the Commander up, ate breakfast, and then sat in the office.
I didn’t even brew coffee; I just sat there quietly.
“What’s with that face? Why do you look so down? Are you sick?”
“No, nothing’s wrong.”
Down? What did she mean by that?
I felt perfectly fine, so I couldn’t understand Midori’s words.
If I had really been sick, I wouldn’t even mention it.
There was truly nothing wrong with me; I felt perfectly fine.
“Really…? You look like something’s bothering you.”
“It’s just Monday morning vibes.”
“Really? That makes sense. Monday mornings just suck!”
Yeah, it was probably just the Monday morning syndrome.
There really wasn’t any reason for my face to look bad since nothing was wrong.
Anyway, it was Monday again, and a week of more work awaited me.
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